Chapter Three

This was a torrential downpour that almost blotted out the sky.

In an instant, the cloudless sky turned into a scene of lurking dragons, darkness descended, thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down. Strong winds carried countless needle-like raindrops that fell to the ground, even creating small holes.

Everything before their eyes changed in the blink of an eye: the grass began to burn, turning into white ash, and the soil on the ground rotted and smelled slightly burnt.

Even more bizarre were the withered trees that rose from the ground, withering the moment they sprouted. They grew extremely fast, and withered just as quickly. From the top, they turned a deathly brownish-black, while the base remained vibrant with life. Then, they were snapped in two by a strong wind, and after hitting the ground, the broken ends began to grow again.

In less than three minutes, the cloudless grassland turned into a treacherous swamp.

The only safe place was next to the fire. There were three people sitting there, each covered with a blanket. Yak took his hands out of the blankets and held a wooden skewer in each hand, on which was roasting meat from some kind of animal.

Then, he handed one skewer of meat to the slovenly guy next to him, kept one for himself, and then extended the last skewer to the timid, seemingly frightened girl next to him.

"Have some meat skewers. Freshly grilled food will warm you up," Yak said coldly, his expression as if he were holding a knife to the girl's neck.

However, the expression on his face showed a hint of worry, as if he was concerned about the girl's condition.

She looked truly worrying; her small body trembled slightly, and her eyes held fear and terror. Ark was absolutely certain that if he made any threatening move, she would hide like a mouse.

But since she was willing to sit here obediently, she probably sensed some of my kindness, right? Yak thought to himself as he watched her thank him softly and accept the meat skewers that were handed to him.

Yak himself, biting into a skewer of meat, looked outside at the dark clouds pressing down on the ground, containing thunder, unleashing torrential rain, and blowing razor-sharp whirlwinds.

This barrier kept them out of this dangerous world, and apart from the sudden drop in temperature making it a bit cold, everything was just as it had been before the natural disaster.

"How did you know it would rain?" After a long while, Lady asked softly, "It was a sunny day just now."

“Oh, it’s for some special reasons.” Ark didn’t seem willing to answer the question. “It’s a bit complicated to explain, but I can definitely sense these changes in advance.”

"Oh." Lady didn't ask any further questions, but silently hugged her knees, shrinking into a tiny shape.

Suddenly, Yak heard a soft sobbing sound behind him. He turned around and saw the girl burying her head, seemingly crying secretly.

It seems that the question she just asked was an attempt to break the deadlock. If Ark answers it well, they can naturally move on to the next topic.

However, this guy didn't know that his very first words had stepped into Ark's forbidden zone. This was one of his few secrets, and he really couldn't just casually tell a stranger.

Yak tapped his head in annoyance, wondering what he should say.

Normally, he would chat with his best buddies at this time, talking about all sorts of things to relieve the depression caused by the long trip.

But now there's one more person here.

If it were just a bunch of ordinary people, Ark could talk to them without any worries, but she clearly couldn't treat them that way...

The scene when they found her really shocked him and Denos: there was blood everywhere, a person cut in two, and a guy with an arrow stuck in his head.

They initially believed there were no survivors and were planning to see if there was anything that could be salvaged, in order to minimize losses before the next regional anomaly buried all the bodies and materials.

Only when they got closer did they see the beautiful girl on the ground, wrapped in a torn robe, coughing up blood and begging for help.

Denos's medical knowledge was inadequate, so he had to ask Ark to help bandage the wound. The robe was definitely ruined, and to properly bandage the wound, he would have to witness the body of a young girl.

So… Ark tried to put himself in the girl's shoes. She was in a deserted place, the only place she could take with her were two men with unknown intentions, and her clothes had been changed. And… among those corpses, there might be someone she knew…

This is definitely not the right time to chat.

Yak could only gesture to the Denosian beside him, who was focused on the meat skewers in his hand, meaning to think of a solution.

The man brushed aside his messy hair, looked at Ark and then at the girl, then shrugged helplessly, ate the remaining meat on the skewers in a few bites, stood up, and walked into the carriage.

Then, a few strings vibrated slightly in the air, sounding like the sound of an acoustic guitar being tested, coming from the carriage.

Denos appeared before them carrying a wooden guitar that looked like it had been used for a long time.

This stopped Lady from crying, and she looked at Denos in a daze.

He just shrugged helplessly: "Do you have any favorite songs?"

But all she received in response was silence.

“I think ‘Falling Feathers’ would be fine.” Yak had no choice but to smooth things over, then turned to the girl and explained, “It’s a song written by a birdman, it’s very cheerful… Have you heard it?”

The bird-people's original name is the Skywing Clan, a type of monster, and like elves and dwarves, they are one of the few monster races capable of reproduction. Their calls are clear and melodious, and they have composed many beautiful tunes.

"I haven't heard any of the songs," the girl sniffed and said softly.

Yak then realized that her silence earlier wasn't due to fear, but rather because she was thinking.

He scratched his head, his face expressionless, but the little expression on his head was a bit strange, making him look somewhat at a loss.

"I forgot to ask, what's your name...?" Yak asked cautiously, afraid of startling the girl who looked like a wounded cat.

“Lady.” He received a soft sound, as light as a tiny insect flying through the air.

Just then, Denos began to pluck the strings. His slender hands flew across the strings, producing a clear, melodious sound, like the chirping of a hundred birds. Lively and joyful, yet serene.

Yak is right, it is indeed a good piece of music. Listening to music like this can put aside worries and bring peace and joy.

"Um, thank you," Lady said softly after a moment.

"It's nothing. Didn't God teach us to do good deeds?" Ake was a little embarrassed, his expression turning slightly red. "Is your injury... any better?"

Lady didn't answer, she just nodded slightly.

Just when Ark thought they were about to fall into dead silence again, she spoke up again.

"I don't know how to thank you... I have no money," she said timidly, as if afraid that these two guys would turn into hungry wolves and devour her.

"Don't worry, we're not bad people." Yak shrugged helplessly, "Although it's not very convincing for me to say that."

Suddenly, the dark clouds in the sky were torn apart, spewing out rolling thunder. The scorching light streaked across the ground, and hundreds of meters away, the swamp was instantly scorched into charcoal, as if the heavens had unleashed their fury upon the land.

Ark, however, paid no attention to this, only feeling somewhat irritated by the thunder: "Denos, can your barrier withstand this kind of lightning strike?"

"Don't worry, my sorcery was taught to me personally by my father. If you don't trust me, don't you trust my father?" Denos put down his harp. In that tone, he couldn't continue playing. "Mind if I have a smoke?"

“I don’t care, but you have to get her permission.” Yak pointed at Lady: “Your enclosed space is only so big, and if you light it, the smoke will probably fill the whole place.”

"I...I'm fine." Lady quickly shook her head. She was scared because of the thunder, afraid that they would kick her out of this only safe place.

Having received permission, Denos fumbled in his clothes for a moment, pulled a wooden box from his pocket, took out a crumpled cigarette, and put it in his mouth. Then he pulled out an exquisite metal box, quite different from the crumpled cigarette, which contained a lighter engraved with a strange decorative pattern.

But when he opened the lid and fiddled with the flint, he only got a few sparks.

"Damn it, this thing is broken again." Denos grinned helplessly. "This thing is really unreliable."

"No way, that's some high-end stuff that Nidra bought." Ark turned his head away, his little emoticon blinking as it looked at the metal box in his hand. "Let me see it."

Denos tossed the lighter in his hand over, and Ark caught it without thinking, but just fiddled with the flint and watched the small sparks fly.

"Is it out of gas?" Yak asked tentatively.

"It was just filled up the day before yesterday."

"Then I'm out of ideas."

"See? See? Matches are definitely more reliable." Denos stood up helplessly. "These things that have only become popular in recent years are unreliable."

"Well, but it's convenient, isn't it? And it looks nice." Yak closed the lid and fiddled with it in his hand: "Before, we could only light cigarettes with matches, and that was useless in special circumstances."

"But it broke without any special circumstances. Damn it, where did you put my matches?" Denos scratched his messy hair. This thing was indeed quite convenient, which was why he hadn't carried matches with him for a while. It was a bit of a hassle for him to find the little stick that he didn't know where he had put.

"May I take a look?" Suddenly, Lady looked at the lighter and said softly, "Perhaps I can help."

Yak paused, a hint of confusion in his expression, but he still handed over the lighter.

Lady took it and placed it on the ground. She reached out and broke off a damaged part from the mechanical structure that had been pried open on her left arm. Using the small metal piece, she pried it into a rather hidden gap in the metal casing. With a slight movement of her hand, the casing popped open, revealing the intricate internal structure and the kerosene storage compartment.

"That thing can be disassembled?" Ark and Denos were dumbfounded at this point; they still didn't know that it could be pried open.

“A few parts are rusted.” Lady glanced at them, then picked them out with her slender hands, rubbed them on the broken parts of the mechanical structure, put them back together, and put the cover back on. “It’s not a big problem, this should be fine.”

"Where are you from?" Yak took the lighter, fiddled with the flint and steel a few times, and sure enough, a small flame appeared, which looked particularly lonely in the wind and rain.

“Nedra,” Lady said softly, then paused. “No, I should say I live there. I don’t have identification, and I wasn’t registered in the last census, so I’m not considered a local.”

"Aren't you going to get me identification?" Ark's voice was completely calm, but the expression on his head was a little subtle: "Are you a monster?"

"Why would you think that?" Lady's voice suddenly became wary, like that of a startled cat.

“Indeed, you resemble someone, but your heartbeat is strange, because it’s too steady.” Ark hesitated for a moment before saying, “And, your appearance is a little too perfect.”

Humans are bound to have flaws. Perfection is not strictly a compliment, because no one is perfect, and it's not a word used to describe people.

A long silence followed.

"Haha, don't take it to heart. It's not a big deal if it's a monster, right?" Denos quickly came to the rescue. The more he talked, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. If this continued, something might happen.

His smile seemed a bit fake, which made him unsure how to continue trying to salvage the situation. He could only take the lighter, light a cigarette, take a deep drag, and exhale a few puffs of white smoke.

This is a rather heavy topic, not because monsters and humans have reached a point of no return, ready to chop off each other's heads on sight. Rather, it's because they are both trying to act more like humans, so they can appear less different.

There are two types of monsters, both essentially composed of chaotic divine power or demonic elements from the chaotic region. The only difference is that some have intelligence while others do not.

This world has become so difficult to survive because of that great war, not only for humans but also for monsters.

Extreme environments are incapable of sustaining life, so intelligent monsters are forced to seek survival in human settlements. Monsters without intelligence… well, they don't even know what life is; they only know how to attack anything they see. So they constantly die, and something else constantly takes their place.

However, regardless of race, there is a subconscious tendency to exclude those who are different, such as refusing to issue them residency permits... So it is conceivable that these intelligent monsters do not have an easy time, and can even be said to be the weaker party.

“No, I’m not a monster.” Lady shook her head and looked at Ark seriously.

Then she said softly, "I am a doll, not even a monster."